New Michael Jackson Documentary Highlights ‘Off The Wall’ Era

You’d be hard-pressed to find an artist of nearly any genre who wasn’t influenced by Michael Jackson in some way, even if only subconsciously. And while his massively successful Thriller album gets the vast majority of praise (understandably so, as it’s the best-selling album of all time in the U.S.) Off The Wall was Jackson’s true breakout success as a solo act.

Director Spike Lee knows this, and he’s spent the past few years working on Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall, a documentary that focuses on the 1979 album, according to a report from Fuse. A new trailer sees Questlove, The Weeknd and David Byrne detail the impact Off The Wall had on them as musicians.

Speaking about Jackson’s influence as a vocalist, The Weeknd said, “I always use Michael as, first and foremost, as a vocal inspiration. And Off The Wall was definitely the one that made me feel like I could sing. I found my falsetto because of Off the Wall: ‘Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough.'”

Questlove’s personal anecdote is more humorous, as he talks about Jackson’s sometimes garbled vocal delivery (light-years ahead of Ariana Grande — THIS is the impact of Michael Jackson). He said, “I didn’t even know he was saying, “Keep going with the force don’t stop.’ I thought it was about forks.”

Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall will air on Showtime on February 5. It’ll also be included in a re-issue bundle of the Off the Wall LP, set to be released on February 26. Watch the trailer above.

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